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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29190000">a home by any other name</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Willow_bird/pseuds/Willow_bird'>Willow_bird</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>All For The Game - Nora Sakavic</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>(Nicky tries anyway), Gen, Nicky Hemmick Tries His Best, POV Nicky Hemmick, Pre-Canon, The Cousins Bonding, references to drug abuse</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 03:29:14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,751</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29190000</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Willow_bird/pseuds/Willow_bird</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Nicky Hemmick has recently gained custody of his two teenaged cousins, and he's barely out of his teens himself. He doesn't know how to do this, but he is going to try his best.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Nicky Hemmick &amp; Aaron Minyard, Nicky Hemmick &amp; Andrew Minyard</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>95</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>ANDREIL</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>a home by any other name</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hi! I have a lot of feelings about young minyards and a lot of feelings about Nicky Hemmick. So. Here's just something that rattled around in my brain for a while. It's not very polished but this is just sorta how I see Nicky trying to give the boys a home after all they'd known were broken ones. </p><p>I hope you like it!! ^^;</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Nicky knocked on the door, then turned the knob and peaked in when he thought he heard what might have, possibly, potentially been a grunt of acknowledgement from the other side. Andrew was laying on his bed, a book open and resting across his chest, his eyes as sharp as literal <i>knives</i> as he glared at the door where Nicky was intruding. </p><p>Nicky hadn’t known Andrew for very long, but it was almost easier to navigate his wary distrust than it was to relearn where he and Aaron stood. </p><p>“Hey!” he greeted brightly, wiggling his fingers in greeting. When nothing sharp was thrown at him, he pushed the door open a bit more and held up the Home Depot bag in his hand. “I stopped at the store on my way back from work.”</p><p>Andrew’s eyes narrowed even further, and Nicky was impressed because if <i>he’d</i> tried that expression he’d just look like he’d gotten sand in his eyes or something. </p><p>“Uh…” Nicky fumbled, then reached into the bag and pulled out one of the doorknobs he'd bought at the store. “I got you and Aaron new doorknobs. The ones that came with the house don’t lock. So…” He drifted off awkwardly at the way Andrew suddenly froze. Not that he had been moving much before -- but at that, the kid just, well, he <i>froze</i>. Nicky only caught the way his eyes widened because he was looking at him, watching him for some kind of reaction, and he hurriedly continued on to clarify with: “These will lock on the inside! Not… I would never. I’m not gonna… like… lock you in or something. Fuck. No! I just…”</p><p>He gave up and just tried for a smile, lifting his shoulders in a shrug. </p><p>Andrew narrowed his eyes again, then nodded, waving his hand in what Nicky took to be dismissive consent for him to go on and install the new doorknob.</p><p>“Great!” Nicky grinned, then turned back to the door and knelt as he pulled the new screwdriver from the bag as well to start taking apart the current knob so he could replace it.</p><p>He’d known, coming into this, that becoming the guardian of two teenage boys wasn’t going to be easy. Hell, he was barely twenty himself and it wasn’t like he was super mature or anything. Yeah, he was a fuck ton better than he’d been three years ago, before Erik and before Germany -- but he wasn’t exactly a role model. He was just… he cared about his cousins and he cared about what would happen to them. He couldn’t… he <i>couldn’t</i> let them go to his parents. He couldn’t subject them to Luther Hemmick’s rule. </p><p>So he’d done something kinda crazy. He’d flown in from Germany, he’d demanded custody of Aaron and Andrew, and… and he’d <i>won</i>. WIth Erik’s help as well as help from one of his old high school teachers, whose husband <i>happened</i> to be an excellent lawyer, he’d… he’d done it. </p><p>The twins hadn’t seemed exactly happy about it, but they hadn’t protested either. When asked by the judge during the hearing, they’d both said that they would rather go with Nicky. Luther’s lawyer had attempted to goad them into saying it was because they thought they’d be able to get away with mayhem or partying or drinking or something, but Andrew had been the one to shut that down. </p><p>Andrew had said that he trusted no one, but if he had to choose who was less likely to fuck him over -- it would be Nicky. </p><p>Nicky dropped everything at least four times each as he attempted to switch out the doorknobs. It wasn’t even that the process of switching them out was in any way <i>difficult</i>, he was just nervous and excited and… well, a lot of other things that he didn’t really have the words for. He wasn’t exactly a handy-man type (though he did <i>like</i> that type - Erik was definitely that type, and something about him with a tool in his hand…) and he couldn’t quite figure out the best way to balance the new knob, hold onto the door, and screw it all together at the same time. </p><p>Eventually, though, he managed. Once he was done he stood up, the old knob in the bag with the one he still needed to put on Aaron’s door, and turned to smile at Andrew. The boy hadn’t moved <i>at all</i>. If Nicky didn’t know any better he might he worried that he’d been replaced by an eerily accurate Andrew Statue. Or, like, a vampire or something. </p><p>“Okay, all done! So, uh, I am gonna go and install Aaron’s too. Then maybe we could all play a game or something? We don’t have, like, <i>anything</i> - but! I’m sure we could come up with something. Charades, maybe? Oh! Or like--”</p><p>“No.” Andrew didn’t so much as raise his voice but his tone was forceful and Nicky had to wonder how he <i>did</i> that. Because, seriously, the kid was like - fifteen? And he already was so… scary and stoic. It was impressive. Also intimidating. But also… cool? Nicky wished he had been that cool back when he had been in high school (not that it was <i>all</i> that long ago). He thought maybe his life, or at least his school experience, would have been a lot different if he had been. </p><p>“U-uh… right! Right, gotcha. Too lame for someone so cool. Got it.” Even <i>he</i> mentally cringed at the finger-guns that possessed his hands just then. He was seriously going to have to rethink his strategy with these guys. At least he had a little bit of background with Aaron. Sure, he hadn’t seen his baby cousin in years before Aunt Tilda died but still -- that history should account for something. </p><p>Right?</p><p>Nicky hovered there for another awkward beat. “Okay well then, I’ll… call you down when dinner is ready!” It was one of his less graceful escapes, but somehow he didn’t think Andrew cared as long as it meant that he was leaving him alone. Not a second after the door was shut, Nicky heard the creak of the bed and the shuffle of feet on the bare wood floor, then the quiet click of the lock being engaged. </p><p>Maybe Nicky should have felt something more negative about that - rejection or frustration or sadness or something, but instead there was only the cool glow of relief. The awkwardness that made his hands feel too big and his heart too young for all that had settled on him in the last few weeks melted away, if only for a moment, under the certainty that at least this time he’d done something right. </p><p>Buoyed a little bit by that thought, Nicky turned down the hall and headed for Aaron’s room. This time, when Nicky gave a quick knock there was an almost immediate response in the form of a rough, “Yeah?”</p><p>“Can I come in a sec? I’ve got something for ya.”</p><p>“Uh, sure.”</p><p>Nicky opened the door and stepped in. Aaron looked both better and worse than he had a few weeks ago. On one hand, his eyes were clearer. On the other, he’d lost some weight and Nicky was pretty sure that the boy had been scowling so much that the expression was permanently etched into his face at this point. He was so different from the little kid that had been so excited to fly kites with him the summer before Nicky had been sent to… </p><p>Well, it was a long time ago. </p><p>“Here,” Nicky said quickly as he shoved away thoughts of a past that had no bearings on the present and no place in his life now. He lifted the bag like he had when he’d showed Andrew. “I ran to the store to pick up some new doorknobs for you guys.”</p><p>Aaron blinked at him. “Okay..? Something wrong with the ones we got?”</p><p>Somehow Aaron’s comparatively normal teenaged judgement hit harder than Andrew’s knife-sharp intensity. </p><p>Nicky tried for a laugh and fumbled his words for a moment before settling for more or less the same explanation. “My parents never let me have any privacy. And uh, it’s not like I would ever go through your shit - and I’m sure Andrew wouldn’t either! - but these knobs you’ve got don’t lock so I…” He shrugged, losing steam a bit. “I picked up new ones that lock from the inside. So if you just wanna, y’know, be alone and not be bothered…”</p><p>“How is a doorknob that locks from the inside going to do anything to keep people going through my shit when I’m not home?”</p><p>“Uh.. well, I didn’t really think of that. I can… uh… get ones with keys? Shit. Uh…” Nicky laughed, the sound as awkward as the sensation of it clanging around in his chest. Teenagers man, <i>ruthless</i> little bastards weren’t they. He didn’t remember being like that when he was their age!</p><p>He had turned, ready to leave - figuring Aaron wouldn’t care to have the knobs changed out when it would be useless - but paused at the sound of Aaron’s sigh. </p><p>“Wait,” he said - and when Nicky turned back his cousin was sitting up on his bed, legs crossed, studying him with an expression that was so different from Andrew’s but was just as unreadable. “It’s stupid. But I didn’t say not to… y’know. At least no one can barge in when I want to be alone. So. That’s something at least,” he grumbled. </p><p>Nicky blinked, then felt the grin spread across his face. He was sure it was big and filled with as much delight as was prancing around in his happy lil gay heart because of the way Aaron snorted and rolled his eyes. If anything, that reaction made him smile even <i>more</i> - because like, normal teenagers always rolled their eyes at their guardians, right? That meant they felt safe enough to be their sassy, hormonally-imbalanced selves without fear of dramatic repercussions! See, he could totally do this thing. </p><p>Practically humming to himself, Nicky got to work - and since he’d already switched out Andrew’s, he figured this one would go a lot smoother. </p><p>“So… did you already do Andrew’s then?” Aaron asked after a moment. Nicky idly wondered if he realized how much he sucked at sounding casual and not-at-all interested, but didn’t comment.</p><p>“Yup! His is the first door down the hall from the stairs so I just went there first,” Nicky answered as he set aside the old knob, picking up the package of the new one and wrestling it carefully open so he didn’t lose the screws. </p><p>“Cool. What did he say? Y’know, about it…?”</p><p>“Not much,” Nicky said honestly, then paused to think back on the whole exchange. “Actually, not… <i>anything</i> really. Come to think of it, I don’t think he’s said more than like, five whole words to anyone since we moved in.”</p><p>This was a slight exaggeration. Andrew had delivered a few very firm sentences to Nicky when he’d come home from work the second day after they’d moved in to find out that Andrew had locked his brother in the bathroom as a way to detox him from all the shit he’d been on. Aaron still wasn’t quite over the whole thing and Nicky didn’t really blame him. A cowardly part of himself that he wasn’t really proud of was also really glad that Aaron seemed to have placed the full blame of it on Andrew, ignoring the fact that while Nicky hadn’t helped… he hadn’t <i>stopped</i> Andrew either. </p><p>He should have. He <i>knew</i> he should have. Andrew had locked Aaron in with the best intentions, Nicky believed that with his whole heart - but… but there were better ways. They had won the guardianship hearing, they had gotten a <i>house</i> - so surely they would have been able to get Aaron into rehab! But… when Nicky had tried to talk to Andrew about it, Andrew had been so… so! It wasn’t even the knife! </p><p>(Okay it was a little bit the knife.)</p><p>Just… the only way he would have been able to stop it would probably be by calling the police or something, and if he did that he knew he would have lost custody after he’d <i>just</i> gotten it. So he’d let it happen and he hoped and prayed that they’d all come out on the other side.</p><p>And they had! A… a bit worse for wear, but still! And at least Aaron was clean now. That had to count for something, didn’t it?</p><p>“He’s a fucking psycho, that’s why,” Aaron grumbled then, drawing Nicky out of his thoughts. Nicky looked over as his cousin flopped dramatically (because everything teenagers did was dramatic, obviously) onto his back to stare up at the ceiling. </p><p>“I mean, he’s definitely, uh… a unique individual. But he’s family.” Nicky turned back to the door and braced it with his knees as he carefully balanced the new knob so he could affix it properly. “That’s the great thing about family, you know? Even if you’re a little bit batshit you know there will always be someone in your corner.” He chuckled. “And let’s be honest - wouldn’t you rather have Andrew in your corner than out of it?”</p><p>Aaron scoffed derisively from over on the bed. “Yeah, I doubt that asshole ever looks out for anyone other than himself.”</p><p>Nicky hummed, thinking about how best to respond. Like, he didn’t want to outright say ‘Uh, dude you are <i>so</i> wrong’ because no one liked being told they were wrong. He didn’t really know how else to say it, though. Instead, he channeled Mr. Greenery and said in as wisened a tone as possible, “And what makes you say that?”</p><p>“Uh, <i>hello</i> - are you forgetting the part where he locked me in a fucking <i>bathroom?</i>”</p><p>Nicky didn’t flinch! He didn’t! Score. Instead, he leaned closer to the door like he was studying the exact angle of his screw as he allowed a few beats of silence.</p><p>(He was also <i>nailing</i> this handyman shit… maybe later he and Erik could have a bit of… uh… playtime over the phone and they could incorporate some roles and a <i>different</i> kind of nailing, heh..)</p><p>“Who do you think he did that for though? I mean… if he were just in it for himself why go through all that effort to make sure you got sober?”</p><p>“I dunno, because he’s an idiot? I’m hardly a fucking delight now that I am.”</p><p>“Yeah, you’re an asshole,” Nicky agreed with a chuckle as he secured the new doorknob and gave it a wiggle to make sure it was stable. “But like, you’re <i>our</i> asshole! And it isn’t like Andrew is Mr. Sunshine or anything himself.” He gathered up the bag, now filled with discarded doorknobs and a screwdriver he could now genuinely say he knew how to use. </p><p>“And for the record,” he added before taking his (much better coordinated) leave, “I like Sober Aaron the Asshole a lot better than Drugged Aaron the Ghost.”</p><p>Aaron looked over at him and glared for a long moment. Nicky could <i>feel</i> the kid trying to pick the lie out of his sentiment. He must have realized that Nicky was only telling the complete and honest truth, though, because after what was probably a full minute he sighed and looked away. </p><p>“Yeah,” he said so quietly Nicky wasn’t sure he was even meant to hear it, “...me too.”</p><p>Nicky wanted to hug him SO. BAD. He wanted to go over and pull that kid into his arms and hug him and tell him that he was loved and that everything was going to be okay. </p><p>He didn’t, because he was an idiot sometimes but he wasn’t stupid. Instead, he moved to the door, hand on the knob to pull it closed behind him. “I’m going to make dinner here soon. I’ll call you when it’s done.”</p><p>There was a sound of understanding and then Nicky left the room, shutting the door behind him. Nicky honestly wasn’t sure how he was going to get through the next couple of years. He knew he wasn’t a role model. He wasn’t mature enough to be a <i>parent</i> to his cousins - and even if he was… he didn’t think that was what they wanted or needed at this point. But he could be someone to stand by them. He could do his best and maybe… <i>maybe</i> that would be enough.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Nicky: *gives Andrew a doorknob that locks from the inside, having NO IDEA*</p><p>Andrew (outwardly): ..... *staaaare*</p><p>Andrew (internally): I am pretty sure I don't even like you but I would happily slaughter four grown men for you.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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